80 gift ideas from the '80s: 'Say, Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?'

Behold, 80 gift ideas from the '80s. Okay, actually it's my list of the 80 must-see movies of the '80s. But every '80s fan loves movies, and with so many of these just now coming out on Blu-ray, nobody will mind if they own two copies of The Blues Brothers.

I've tweaked this list over the last year. (Mainly because I oddly enough omitted Ferris Bueller and Ghostbusters from the list the first time around. Bet nobody can figure out which two movies got axed to make room.) As always, feel free to leave feedback on which movies still should have made the cut.

A Christmas Story (1983): Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley. "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. Ovaltine? A crummy commercial? Son of a bitch!"

A Fish Called Wanda (1988): John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis. "Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every man for himself." And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up."

About Last Night (1986): Rob Lowe, Demi Moore. "Oh, that's great, Dan. I tell you I'm a thief and you call me a liar."

Airplane (1980): Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays. "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"

Escape from New York (1981): Kurt Russell, Isaac Hayes. "Ayy! Number Onnee! You're the Duke! You're the Duke!" E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982): Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas. "You could be happy here, I could take care of you. I wouldn't let anybody hurt you. We could grow up together, E.T."

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982): Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh. "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buds, and I'm fine."

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986): Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Field of Dreams (1989): Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan. "This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."

First Blood (1982): Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna. "I can't get it out of my head. I dream of seven years. Everyday I have this. And sometimes I wake up and I don't know where I am. I don't talk to anybody. Sometimes a day - a week. I can't put it out of my mind."

Footloose (1984): Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer. "See, this is our time to dance. It is our way of celebrating life. It's the way it was in the beginning. It's the way it's always been. It's the way it should be now."

Midnight Run (1988): Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin. "Why are you so unpopular with the Chicago police department?"

Miracle Mile (1988): Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham. "Pal, it's after four in the morning. All of the helicopter pilot bars are closed."

The Natural (1984): Robert Redford, Glenn Close. "I guess some mistakes you never stop paying for." Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): Amanda Wyss, Johnny Depp. "Nancy, you are going to get some sleep tonight if it kills me."

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987): Steve Martin, John Candy. "Well, you think what you want about me; I'm not changing. I like... I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. 'Cause I'm the real article. What you see is what you get."

Platoon (1986): Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen. "I love this place at night. The stars... there's no right or wrong in them. They're just there."

St. Elmo's Fire (1985): Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe. "Forever got a lot shorter all of a sudden." Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): William Shatner, Ricardo Montalban. "Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human."

The Sure Thing (1985): John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga. "ib, you want a relationship? That's fine. Just remember that every relationship starts with a one night stand. You came 3,000 miles for a reason didn't you? Would you look at that reason. Go for it Gib, you've earned it."

The Terminator (1984): Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton. "Pain can be controlled - you just disconnect it."

This is Spinal Tap (1984): Michael McKean, Christopher Guest. "As long as there's, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll."

Top Gun (1986): Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis. "The defense department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid." Trading Places (1983): Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy. "It ain't cool being no jive turkey so close to Thanksgiving."

Tron (1982): Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner. "End of line!"

The Untouchables (1987): Kevin Costner, Sean Connery. "You just fulfilled the first rule of law enforcement: make sure when your shift is over you go home alive. Here endeth the lesson."

Vacation (1983): Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo. "This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!"

Wall Street (1987): Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas. "The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don't want to do." When Harry Met Sally (1989): Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan. "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

About this blog

Relive the '80s music, movies and culture with Tampa Bay Times correspondent Steve Spears. A teen during the greatest decade ever, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to big hair.